Fruit-jar attachment.



F. H. MATTES.

FRUIT JAR ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1911.

1,037,649. Patented Sept. 3,1912.

ITED STATES PATENT orrron.

FRANCIS H. MATTES, 0F NEWTON FALLS, OHTO.

FRUIT-JAR ATTACHMENT.

meters.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sepia-3, 1912.

Application filed November 22, 1911. Serial No. 661,742.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. Marries, a citizen of the United States,res dlng at -Newton Falls, in the county of Trumbull jar closure of theSure Seal type may be applied to an ordinary Mason type of fruit whereinthere is provided a screw cap are of the type known as Mason jars, andbetween seasons the caps are frequently lost or become so damaged by usethat-they cannot be again employed, while the body of thejar is still ingood condition. It is the experience of those dealing in fruit jars thatthere is a large demand for new caps. 1

Since the Masonfruit jar has become the staple fruit jar on the market,there has been introduced another type of fruit ar wherein there isprovided a cap more readily applied and removed than the screw cap ofthe Mason jar, and such jars are sold under the trade names of Sure Sealand E Z Seal. These newer types of fruit jars have certain advantagesover the older Mason type and also sell at a higher price.

By the present invention a Mason fruit jar is readily converted into themore desirable type of fruit jar at a cost about that of replacing thecap portions of the Mason jars, and to this end there is provided ascrew ring having attached theretoa clamp member usually made of wireand so constructed as to operate as a cam clamping a separate covermember against the mouth r end of the neck of the ar, the cover memberhaving means for the application of a rub-' ber sealing gasket. By thesemeans the" Ma son jar is converted into a Sure Seal jar. Furthermore,the clamping devices of the Sure Seal jar are liable to stretch in useand fail to work properly. By the present in ventionthe effect of suchstretching is overcome by suitably proportioning the screw ring, so thatit may screwed to a greater or less extent along the'neck of the jar,thus compensating for the stretching of the parts, so that the life ofthe device is greatly prolonged.

The invention will be best .understood Practically all fruit jars uponthe market from aconsideration of the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with of this specification, with'the understandingthat while the drawings illustrate a pracstructure therein shown may bevariously -changed or modified without material deinvention.

, In the drawings :-Figure-1 is an elevation of a portion of a fruit jarwith the invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a section I on the line 22of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section less extensive than that of Fig.:2

g of the parts. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of f the attachmentconstituting the subjectmatter of. the present invention.

j a jar 1 provided with a neck 2 having eX- te'rnal ridges in the formof screw threads 3, the jar being what is cemmercially known as aMasonjar, of which there are numerous cap member 4 provided with amedian elongated boss 5 with a central depression 6, the said cap beingsuch as is usually emjar knownas the Sure Seal or E Z Seal. The cover orcap member 4 is provided with 'a marginal groove, 7 in which there isdodged a sealing gasket 8 when the device in the form of a fiatrubber'ring. Adapted to the outer threaded surface of the neck 2 thereis a ring 9 which may be made of sheet metal pressed with screw threads10 and at one end a circumferential flange 11 serving'to stifien thering, and in practice the axial length of the ring is less than thelength of the neck 2 so that when the flange 11 is brought intoengagement with the usual shoulder on the body 1 at the junction of theneck 2 with said body, such shoulder being indicated at 12, the otherend of the ring will be spaced-some distance from the mouth end of the'neck 2 as indicated in Fig. 3, while when one end of the ring isapproximately flush with the month end of neck .2'the flange 11 willbespaced a corresponding distance from the shoulder 12, as indicated inFigs. 1 and 2.

the accompanying drawings forming a part tical form of the inventionthelatter is by .no means limited to an exact conformity .with the showingof the, drawings for the 'parture from the salient features of the r andshowing a somewhat diflerent position Referring to the drawingsthere isshown.

varieties, but all of the same general type. There 1s also shown in thedrawings a i ployed in connection with the type of fruit 1 is in use,such sealing gasket being usually At diametrically opposite sides thering 9 is perforated, as indicated at 18, for the reception of oppositeinturned ends 14 of legs 15 formed on the two ends of a bentmanipulating member 16 of approximately 'U- shape and usually made ofwire. Where the main body of the manipulating member 16 joins the legs15 there are formed loops 17 constituting eyes for the reception ofinturned toes 18 on. the ends of lugs 19 of another U-shape member 20,the yoke of which latter may be sufiiciently long so that theU-shapedmember 20 will straddle the cap member 4: and neck 2 with thetoes 18 extending through the eyes 17 The U- shaped manipulating member16 has the legs 15 arranged at approximately right angles thereto, sothat when the manipulating member 16 is turned with the inturned members14: as an axist-he eyes 17 will cause the U-shaped member 20 to movetoward or from the ring 9 in accordance with the direction of movementof the manipulating member 16, the member 20 thereby becoming ,a clampmember for the cover or cap 4, and the manipulating member operating asa cam member which when the eyes 17 are moved past dead center the partswill be locked in position with the cap member 4 forced tightly againstthe neck 2 with the gasket 8 intervening. The two members 16 and 20 areusually made of wire of suitable gage and in general are similar to thelike parts of Sure Seal or E Z Seal type of fruit jar closures.

The rig 9 with the clamping members 16 and 2 0 and thecover or cap 4 maybe manufactured and sold at about the same price as the screw caps ofthe ordinary Mason jars, the screw ring 9 and members 16 and 20 beingmade of metal and the cap member 4 being made of glass or porcelain.

In the type ofjars commercially known as the Sure Seal or ,E Z Seal theclamping device is attached permanently to the jar and the cover is theonly part not so attached, so that when the parts become worn the wholejar is rendered useless. Moreover, the clamping parts become worn in useso that with those attached permanently to the jar the looseness due towear can only be counteracted by the use of one or more thin gaskets orthe use of heavier gaskets than before. With the present invention thescrew ring 9 being of less axial length than that of the neck 2 isscrewed on to the neck to the requisite extent to cause theclampingdevices to workand as the parts become worn the ring 9 may be screwed toa greater extent upon the neck thus compensating for such wear andgiving equal service to an entirely new device.

What is claimed is z- 1. An attachment for fruit jars having necks withexternal screw threads, comprising a screw ring, and clamping memberscarried thereby adapted to engage and hold a cap or cover to the neck ofthe jar, the

jar where threaded, a manipulating cam member having legs at an angle toits body portion and journaled in the perforations in the ring, the legsof the cam member being joined to the body thereof by loops, and a clampmember having inturned portions engaging in the loops of the cam member,the said clamp member engaging a jar cap or closure to clamp it againstthe end of the neck of the jar when the cam member is moved toward thebody of the 1 In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I havehereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS H. MATTES.

Witnessesz Rosn MATTES, C. A. NEIDHART;

